Columbia City, IN asked in Estate Planning for Indiana

Q: How does a benificiary benifit from a revocable trust after death of grantor

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1 Lawyer Answer
Michael Ray Smith
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Michael Ray Smith
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Licensed in Indiana

A: You're probably talking about a so-called "living trust" which is revocable by the grantor until the grantor's death and then converts to an irrevocable trust. The answer to your question depends on the language of the trust instrument, probably called a declaration of trust or a trust agreement. Sometimes the trust instrument calls for the assets of the trust to be distributed immediately to the beneficiaries. Sometimes it calls for the assets to be held in trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries, maybe with some provisions for the trustee to make periodic payments, perhaps limited to those used for the health, maintenance, education, and support of the beneficiaries, with the remainder of the trust to be distributed to the trustees at some point in the future. Those are just a couple of common general trust stuctures. There is no limit to the number of ways that the trust instrument can be written.

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